Several underage candidates sat last year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exam, in spite of a ban by the government.

An analysis of the results released last week reveals that 9,789 candidates aged 16 and below wrote the exam, compared to 9,326 in 2014, which is an increase of 463.

Kisii County presented the highest number of underage candidates at 689, and was followed by Bungoma (599), Kericho (499) and Kakamega (376). In 2014, Kisii County also had the highest number of underage candidates, at 933.

Two years ago, the government announced that underage students would no longer be allowed to sit national exams.

According to the policy, parents are required to ensure they take their children to Standard One after attaining a minimum age of six.

A total of 189,110 candidates aged 17 and 18 also sat the 2015 exam, compared to 179,477 in 2014.